Late Weichselian to Holocene Diatom Succession in a Sediment
Core from Lama Lake, Siberia and Presumed Ecological
Implications
U. Kienel
Alfred- Wegeller-Illstitut fur Polar- ulld Meeresforschullg, Forschullgsstelle Potsdam, Telegrafellherg A43,
D 14473 Potsdam, GermallY
Revised 5 May 1997 and accepted in revised form 15 March 1998
Abstract - The study presents the first lacustrine diatom record spanning a sequence down
to the latest Weichselian (ca. 11.000 y BP) from Taymyr Peninsula, NW-Siberia. The aim
of this contribution is to assess the development of Lama Lake (NE Norilsk) from the
changes in diatom assemblage composition within the context of local pollen assemblages
(Hahne and Melles, this volume) and sedimentological! geochemical data.
Several features of the diatom assemblages of Lama Lake sequence are related to the
establishment of microhabitats in marginal areas: stable ,background' percentages of alphameso to eutrophic taxa throughout the sequence, distinctive fluctuations in diversity indices
and the record of acidophilus taxa, all of which rely on occurrence patterns of periphytic
taxa. The large water body is considered to act as a buffer against environmental changes
which are thus less strongly reflected by the diatom assemblages.
From a general agreement between main features of diatom (ratio of euplanktonic/nonplanktonic taxa) and pollen (ratio of arboreal/non arboreal pollen) data trends, changes in
lake water surface temperature are inferred.
The distinctive maxima of certain diatom taxa and their specific ecological preferences for
thermal and trophic conditions, as well as the pronounced succession of planktonic species
maxima, enahle us to assess trends in these lake parameters. However, a much higher
temporal resolution is needed to resolve timing effects in the responses of terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems.
Introduction
The present study is part of the, Taymyr/Severnaya Zemlya' project, which aims at improving
our understanding of the late Quaternary environmental history of northwestern Siberia.
Various natural data archives have been sampled along a north-south transect running through
the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, the Taymyr Peninsula and the northwest Putoran Plateau
(Norilsk area), which today represent the ecoclimatic zones of polar desert, tundra and forest
tundra (Figure 1).
One basic question regarding the late Quaternary history of the region is the eastern extent of
the Late Weichselian ice shield in western Siberia. The maximum glaciation theory (Grosswald,
1977) hypothesizes glaciation of the whole Taymyr Peninsula, and the minimum glaciation
theory (Velichko et ai., 1984) proceeds from a glaciation restricted to the Putoran Plateau.
According to Astakhov (1997), retarded deglaciation was the leading factor in the transition to
the Holocene in the Russian Arctic, predetermined by the massive Pleistocene cryolithosphere
which prevented the formation of rapid deglaciation features. Only mobile biotic components
maintained sufficiently the speed of global change and thus adequately reflected climatic
fluctuations in the Holocene climate transition.
Lake sediments contain a suite of such biotic components, and thus have great potential for
studies of paleoenvironmental change. The sediment record is often of high quality in terms of
its variety, richness and temporal resolution (Battarbee, 1991). High latitude aquatic
ecosystems, which have adapted to low natural energy flows (temperature, solar radiation), are
In: Kassens, H., H.A. Bauch, I. Dmitrenko, H. Eicken, H.-W. Hubberten, M. Melles, 1. Thiede anu L. Timokhov (eus.)
Land-Ocean Systems in the Siberian Arctic: Dynamics and History. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1999.377-405.
Core from Lama Lake, Siberia and Presumed Ecological
Implications
U. Kienel
Alfred- Wegeller-Illstitut fur Polar- ulld Meeresforschullg, Forschullgsstelle Potsdam, Telegrafellherg A43,
D 14473 Potsdam, GermallY
Revised 5 May 1997 and accepted in revised form 15 March 1998
Abstract - The study presents the first lacustrine diatom record spanning a sequence down
to the latest Weichselian (ca. 11.000 y BP) from Taymyr Peninsula, NW-Siberia. The aim
of this contribution is to assess the development of Lama Lake (NE Norilsk) from the
changes in diatom assemblage composition within the context of local pollen assemblages
(Hahne and Melles, this volume) and sedimentological! geochemical data.
Several features of the diatom assemblages of Lama Lake sequence are related to the
establishment of microhabitats in marginal areas: stable ,background' percentages of alphameso to eutrophic taxa throughout the sequence, distinctive fluctuations in diversity indices
and the record of acidophilus taxa, all of which rely on occurrence patterns of periphytic
taxa. The large water body is considered to act as a buffer against environmental changes
which are thus less strongly reflected by the diatom assemblages.
From a general agreement between main features of diatom (ratio of euplanktonic/nonplanktonic taxa) and pollen (ratio of arboreal/non arboreal pollen) data trends, changes in
lake water surface temperature are inferred.
The distinctive maxima of certain diatom taxa and their specific ecological preferences for
thermal and trophic conditions, as well as the pronounced succession of planktonic species
maxima, enahle us to assess trends in these lake parameters. However, a much higher
temporal resolution is needed to resolve timing effects in the responses of terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems.
Introduction
The present study is part of the, Taymyr/Severnaya Zemlya' project, which aims at improving
our understanding of the late Quaternary environmental history of northwestern Siberia.
Various natural data archives have been sampled along a north-south transect running through
the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, the Taymyr Peninsula and the northwest Putoran Plateau
(Norilsk area), which today represent the ecoclimatic zones of polar desert, tundra and forest
tundra (Figure 1).
One basic question regarding the late Quaternary history of the region is the eastern extent of
the Late Weichselian ice shield in western Siberia. The maximum glaciation theory (Grosswald,
1977) hypothesizes glaciation of the whole Taymyr Peninsula, and the minimum glaciation
theory (Velichko et ai., 1984) proceeds from a glaciation restricted to the Putoran Plateau.
According to Astakhov (1997), retarded deglaciation was the leading factor in the transition to
the Holocene in the Russian Arctic, predetermined by the massive Pleistocene cryolithosphere
which prevented the formation of rapid deglaciation features. Only mobile biotic components
maintained sufficiently the speed of global change and thus adequately reflected climatic
fluctuations in the Holocene climate transition.
Lake sediments contain a suite of such biotic components, and thus have great potential for
studies of paleoenvironmental change. The sediment record is often of high quality in terms of
its variety, richness and temporal resolution (Battarbee, 1991). High latitude aquatic
ecosystems, which have adapted to low natural energy flows (temperature, solar radiation), are
In: Kassens, H., H.A. Bauch, I. Dmitrenko, H. Eicken, H.-W. Hubberten, M. Melles, 1. Thiede anu L. Timokhov (eus.)
Land-Ocean Systems in the Siberian Arctic: Dynamics and History. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1999.377-405.